New Delhi: Students sympathetic to the
Leftist cause and labourers in unorganised sector were used by
Maoists to increase their influence and for overground work in
the capital, police sources said on Sunday.

Sources said Gopal Mishra and his wife Anu, who were
arrested last week, were into "talent hunting" and had used
the services of some "Left-leaning" students to propagate
Maoist ideology in the city.

Maoists were using "sympathetic" students for
"overground" party work in Delhi where they were also
organising displaced labourers under its umbrella, they said.

Sources said Maoists have "some influence" among a
section of "brilliant" students in Jawaharlal Nehru University
and Delhi University. The ultra-Left is targeting those
students who are disillusioned with the mainstream Left.

Police had earlier claimed that Mishra, a trade union
leader, was the Delhi chief of proscribed CPI (Maoist) who was
looking after party operations here. He was running
`Mehnathkush Mazdoor Morcha`, a little known trade union.

Maoists were also organising labourers in the unorganised
sector besides working in industrial areas. Mishra worked
among workers in Noida Sector-IV industrial area and
north-east Delhi.

Sources claimed the couple`s main targets were
unorganised labourers and they had managed to recruit around
25 people to party fold. However, it was not clear whether
they were given party membership or were just sympathisers.

Police had seized a laptop and 10 CDs from the couple,
which experts are examining.

Mishra allegedly used to conduct meetings of leaders of
the party near his house at Ramnagar in east Delhi, the
sources said, adding they were verifying the names of those
who attended such meetings.

Mishra`s wife Anu used to attend party meetings and
record minutes, the sources claimed. Documents were also
seized from their rented accommodation, the sources said.

Mishra, a post-graduate in psychology, was an active
member of CPI (Maoist) and was tasked with organising
unorganised labourers under a trade union, they claimed.

Police sources had earlier said that during
investigations into the Maoist network in the capital it came
to light that the extremists were infiltrating into trade
unions in the city.

They had an active trade union in Okhla Industrial area.
The Maoists were also targeting displaced labourers and
bringing them into their fold, they said.